Sheet-feeding mechanism



Julie 11, 1929. RO DMEYE w 1,716,948

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM Filed April 28, 1926 9 Sheets-Sheet l gnuenfoz m dlber'l'Br-oa er 1 June 11, 1929. A. BROADMEYER SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM Filed April 28, 1926 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 11, 1929.

A. BROADMEYER SHE ET FEEDING MECHANISM 9 Sheets-Sheet Filek April 28, 1926 Zlnwntoz atkozmg R? r, r

June 11, 1929. BRQADMEYER 1,716,948

SHEET FEEDING MECHANI SM Filed April 28,. 1926 9 Sheets-Shet 4 Jwuemfor dIber-t broamneyer A. BROADMEYER 1,716,948

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM v June '11, 1929.

I Filed April 2a, 1926 9 Shets-Sheet 5 dlbert Braadmqer atkoznu June 11, .1929.

A. BR OADMEYER SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed April 28, 1926 albe'l'l' Broadmeyer June 11, 1929. v A, RO DM Y R 1,716,948

SHEET FEEDING MECHANI SH Filed April 28, 1926 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 gwuantw dlbert Broadme er Patented June 11, 1929.

UNITED STATES ALBERT BBOADMEYER, F HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE O.

HICKOK MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, A COR- PORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

SHEET-FEEDING MECHANISM.

Application filed April 28, 1926. Serial No. 105,174.

The present invention relates to apparatus for feeding sheets successively to another mechanism to operate on said sheets, and While it is capable of employment for a number of-ipu'rposes, it is specifically practicable for delivering sheets to an inspecting mechanism, such for example, as that disclosed in my co-pending application, Serial N0. 105,173, filed simultaneously herewith.

The principal object is 'to provide mechanism of a novel and positive character that will take the sheets from a pile and feed or deliver them successively to a receiving instrumentality. 4

An embodiment of the invention that is at present considered the preferable one, is shown in the accompanying drawings, where- 1n Figure 1 is an elevation of one side of the upper portion of the feeder,

Figure 2 is a view in elevation of the opposite side,

Figure 3 is a top plan view,

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 44 of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is an end elevation of the gearcl,

Figure 6 is a view in elevation of the friction driving means for the suction rollers,

Figure 7 is a view on the line 7-7 of Figure 6,

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the braking mechanism,

Figures 9 and 10 are detail sectional views on the lines 99 and 1010 of Figure 7,

Figure 11 is a perspective view diagrammatic in its character, showing the mechanism for swingingthe suction rollers, for creating suction in said rollers and for delivering air blasts to the pile,

Figure 12 is a similar view'of the suction roller rotating mechanism,

Figure 13 is a plan view of a portion of the mechanism shown in Figure 12,

Figure 14 is a detail inside elevation of the device for controlling the position of the latch governing track,

Figure 1.5 .is a longitudinal sectional view through one of the suction'rollers,

Figure 16 is a sectional view on the'line 16--16 of Fig. 15, e 1 v Figure 17 is a sectional view of the elevating latch, I

Figure 18 is a plan view of the same,

Figure 19 is a detail sectional view showing one of the mountings for thepile table and taken on the line 1919 of Figure 1,

Figure 20 is a similar view taken on the valve,

Figure 27 is a detail view showing the cam and the arm for swinging the suction rollers. In the embodiment disclosed, a frame 10 is provided, having vertical guide posts 11. Supporting bars 12 are provided with guide boxes 13 slidably mounted on the posts 11.

In these bars is a removable paperpile-holding table 14. This table is provided with end cleats that rest upon inwardly extending brackets 16 carried by the boxes 13. De-

tachable pins 17, passing through ears 18 on the boxes 13 and engaging the cleats 15, serve to hold the .table in place. When the pins are removed, the table can be detached. It is thus easy to remove an empty table and replace it with a table on which the paper has already been piled.

The table is elevated and depressed by means of the usual vertical screws 19, rotatably mounted between the guide posts 11 and engaging with threaded boxes carried by the supporting bars 12. An-actuating shaft 21, extending across the top of the machine and shown in Figure 3, is geared in the usual manner, as illustrated at 22 to the vertical screws 19, and is provided on one end with the usual ratchet wheel 23. A driving shaft 24, carried by the frame, has an eccentric 25 operating a yoke 26 thatis connected by a link 27 with a swinging arm 28 journaled on the shaft 21, and a pawl 29,

pivoted between its ends, as shown at 30 on i the arm 28, is adapted to engage the teeth of the ratchet wheel 23 and effect a step-by-step rotation thereof. As a consequence the shaft 21 is turned, thereby turning the screws 19 and elevating the paper-supporting table.

For the purpose of delivering the sheets v braced by a tie rod 35. The suction rollerstwo being shown anddesignated 31. These rollers are carried on a shaft 32 journaled in the free ends of forwardly extending .crank arms 33 carried by a rock shaft 34.

The crank arms are preferably connected and 31 are raised and lowered by swinging the rock shaft 34, and to this endsaid rock shaft has fixed thereto an arm 36 having a link connection 37 with one arm 38 of a bell.

.crank fulcrumed at 39 on the frame of the machine, and having its other arm 40 borne against by a cam 41 that is carried by the main drive shaft 24.; This main drive shaft is driven from any suitable source of power by changeable speed gearing of well-known character, a portion of which is shown at 43 in Figure 2. The arms 33, shaft 32 and suction rollers 31 are preferably counterbalanced by providing the rock shaft 34 with a rearwardly extending arm 44 carying a weight 45.

The shaft 32 and the suctionrollers 31 carried thereby are periodically rotated. To this end a gear wheel 46 is loosely mounted on the main drive shaft 24, and is driven by another gear wheel 48 carried by a shaft 49, and said shaft being driven by a sprocket chain 50. The shaft 49 in the present embodiment carries a roller 51,- around which endless cords 52 pass that carry the sheets away from the feeder (the roller 51 in the present structure corresponds to the roller 18 of the aforementioned co p'ending application, Serial N 0. 105,173 and the cords 52 are the con veyor cords 20 of the apparatus). The driven gear wheel 46 is provided on one face with a friction clutch ring 53 that operates on the face of a disk 54 loosely journaled on the driving shaft 24 alongside the gear 46.

This disk 54 is connected by a hub 55 with a sprocket wheel 56 that is thus also loose on the drive shaft 24. The friction clutch ring is preferably pressed outwardly against the face of the disk 54 by means of coiled springs 57 located in sockets in the gear wheel 46, and borne against by washers 58 that may be forced toward the friction clutch ring by set screws 59.. Obviously with this construction the gear wheel 46 is constantlyrotated and through the friction clutch connection the disk 54 and sprocket wheel 56 will be rotated therewith and thereby. From this sprocket wheel 56 an endless sprocket chain 60 operates a double sprocket wheel 61, journaled on the shaft 34, and from which leads a sprocketchain 62 that operates on a sprocket wheel 63 fast to the suction roller shaft 32, thus rotating said shaft and rollers.

- Inasmuch as the rotationof said suction rollers is periodic, the following mechanism is employed for temporarily preventing rotation. The periphery of the disk 54 constitutes a braking surface, and surrounding the same is a brake band 64, one end'of which is anchored to a bracket 65, the other end being connected to the short arm 66 of a bell crank.

The other arm 67 ofthis bell crank has at its free end a bearing against a cam 68 fixed to the main driving shaft 24 alongside the friction disk 54. Inasmuch as the main drive shaft 24 has one complete rotation to each sheet of paper delivered, the cam is so shaped that on each rotation of the shaft 24 it will cause the bell crank 66-67 to turn, thereby tightening the brake band 64 on the periplr cry of the disk 54 and holding it against rotation. The result is that the rotation of the suction rollers 31 is periodically stopped, and upon the continued rotation of the cam, the friction band .is loosened and the driving gear 46 thereupon causes the rotation of the disk 54 and of the friction rollers 31.

' Attention is now called to the structure of the suction rolls and the mechanism by which they are made active and inactive.

These rollers are of the same character as those disclosed in my Patent, N 0. 1,494,303,,

and dated May 13, 1924. Each consists of a head 69 fast to the shaft 32, and having longitudinal openings 70 with intake ports 71. The openings are connected in turn to sue-- tion ports 72 opening through the inner ends of the heads and successively brought into alinement with a suction port 73 on a stationary member surrounding a hub 74 of the head 69. This stationary member has a suction passageway 75 leading to a nipple 76. Connected to these"'nipples are suction pipes 77 that are in turn connected to. a main suction pipe 78. This pi e is in communication with a passageway 9 extending vertically through a valve head 80. A pipe 81 leads from the lowerend of the valve head to the inlet of a suitable suction fan 82.

80 is intersected by a horizontal valve chamber 83, in which is located a reciproeatory plunger valve 84. This valve has a reduced portion 85 movableinto and out of register with the passageway 7 9, so that the valve may either cut off said passageway or permit air to pass therethrough. The valve furthermore has a longitudinal channel 86, which is movable into alinement with the lower end of the passageway 79, when the upper end is cut off, thus providing a vent to the "pump.

The valve 84 is connected by a link 87 tothe' lower end ofa lever 88 fulcrumed between its ends, as shown at 89; and having its upper end 'bearingfagainst a cam 90, this cam being fixed toj-the main driving shaft 24. The consequence isthatsuction is intermittently created in the suction-rollers 31 and this suction is also of course intermittentlycut off.

For the purpose of loosening the sheets, means are provided for directing air blasts against the front upper end of-the pile. These means consists of a pair of nozzles 91 The passageway 7 9 through the valve head end of another vertical passageway 94 in the .valve head 80.. From the lower end of the passageway 94 a pipe 95 leads to the delivery end of the pump 82. As a consequence a blast of air will be delivered through. the pipe 95, passageway 94, header 93, pipes 92 and nozzles 91, against the upper portion of the pile of sheets. This blast is controlled by a reciprocatory valve 96 in a valve chamber 97 that intersects the passageway 94. The valve has a reduced portion 98 movable into and out of register with the passageway 94 to permit air to pass therethrough. It also has a vent outlet port 99 that permits air to exhaust through the end of the valve from the pipe 95 when the header 93 and nozzles 91 are shut off. The valve 96 is connected by a link 100 with the lower end of a lever 101 fulcrumed between its ends and located alongside the lever 88. The upper arm of the lever 101 is borne against by a cam 102 on the drive shaft 24.

' The operation of the structure is as follows The drive shaft 24 and gear wheel 46 are in continuous rotation, it being recalled however, that the gear wheel 46 is not driven by the shaft 24, but is rotatable thereon. With the suction rolls 31 elevated, the brake band 64 is tightened, and consequently the suction rolls are at a standstill. The first operation is caused by the cam 41, which is fixed to the main drive shaft 24, moving to a position to permit the suction rolls '31 to move downwardly toward and on to the uppermost sheet of the pile. As they move downwardly, the valve 96 moves to a position to open the passageway 94, and therefore a blast of air is delivered through the nozzles 91' against the upper portion of the pile, raising the uppermost sheet in a manner well understood and creating an air cushion beneath the topmost sheet, which is engaged by the suction rollers as they move downwardly. Then the full weight of the suction rollers is on the pile of sheets, and while the valve 96 is still open, the valve 84 moves to open position, causing suction in the lowermost row of holes of the two suction rollers. The uppermost sheet thus is attached by suction to these rollers. By this time the cam 41.moves to a position to cause the elevation of the suction-rolls, which are still held against rotation, but have the suction in them separating the top sheet a ma-' terial distance from the remainder of the pile and giving the air blast an opportunity to pass freely thereunder and separate the entire sheet. By this time the clutch cam 68 has moved to a position to release the brake band 64, and the disk 54 being freed, is rotated by the gear wheel 46 so that the suction rollers are rotated to move the sheet on to the conveyor. The parts then return to their above described initial conditions and relations for a repeated operation.

One of the features of this invention is the provision of means, whereby the elevating mechanism for the table is controlled by the feeding rollers or devices. The'latclr29 has a tail piece 103 mounted on the pivot 30, and having a shoulder 104 that abuts against a corresponding shoulder 105. This permits the tail piece to swing rearwardly and upwardly with respect to the latch 29. The lower end of the tail piece carries a roller 106 that runs on a curved track piece 107, the curve of which has the axis of the shaft 21 as its center.

This track piece is pivoted at its front end, as shown at 108and has a curved bottom bearin; 109. The upper end-of the curved edge 109 is provided with a sharp shoulder or notch 109. The curved bearing edge 109 is normally engaged by a sharp shoulder 110 on the upper end of a supporting lever 111, pivoted between its ends, as shown at 112. This supporting lever has a pin 113 on its lower end that is engaged in a slot 114 of a link 1.15, and the link is pivotally connected, as shown at 116 to a depending arm 117, fast to the rock shaft 34, which carries thesupport for the suction rolls.

Assuming the pile at the proper level, the shoulder 110 is on the curved surface 109. This supports the track piece 110 sufficiently high to maintain the latch 29 out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 23, and consequently the elevating mechanism is inactive. When, however, the level of the pile descends low enough through the removal of the, paper to cause the suction rolls to descend to a lower position than normal, obviously the arm 117 being moved rearwardly, will cause a corresponding movement of the link 115, swinging the lever 111 until the shoulder 110 passes from the edge 109 'to a position beneath the notch 109, whereupon the track piece 107 will drop, allowing the latch 29-103 to swing so that said latch will engage the teeth. The intermittent movement of the arm 28 and ratchet wheel therefore will cause the elevation of the pile, and when the levelreturns to normal position the lever 111 swings back until its shoulder 110 is againon the bearing edge 109, whereupon the latch will be again held out of active position. The reason for having the tail piece respective of. the movement of the suction roller.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction, operation and many advantages of the herein described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without further-description and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

What I claim, is v 1. In sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a sheet support, of a swinging supporting frame mount-ed thereover, a shaft journaled in the frame, a plurality of suction rollers fixed to and rotating with the shaft, means for periodically rotating the shaft, a suction conduit having branches connected to the suction rollers, a periodically operated controlling valve in the conduit, and means for periodically swinging the frame.

2. In sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a rotary sheet feeding device, of a rotary driven member connected thereto for rotating it, a rotary driving member having a clutch engagement with the driven member to operate it, and means independent of the sheets to be fed for automatically and periodically making ineffective said clutch engagement-to stop the rotation of the sheet nation with a rotary sheet feeding device, of av rotary driven member connected thereto for rotating it, a rotary driving membenhavlng a frictional clutch engagement with the driven member tooperate it, a brake for the driven member, and means independent of the sheets to be fed for periodically applying and releasing the brake.

5. In sheet feeding apparatus, the combi-' nation with a rotary sheet feedingdevice, of a rotary driven member geared thereto, a rotary driving member having a frictional clutch engagement with the driven member, a brake band for holding the driven member against movement by the driving member, an arm for moving the-brake band, a cam operating on the arm, and means for continu-' ously operating the cam.

6. Insheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a rotary sheet feeding device, of

a driving shaft, a driven member journaled on the driving shaft and geared to the feeding device, a driving member fixed to the driving shaft and frictionally engaging the driven member to operate it, a brake band surrounding the driven member, a swinging arm connected to the brake'band for clamping it on the driven member, and a cam on' the driving shaft operating on the arm.

7. In sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a sheet supporting table, of a swinging frame thereover, a rotary suction roller journaled on the frame, means for intermittently creating suction in the roller, includin g a valve, a driving shaft, valve operating means driven by the shaft, a rotary driven member rotatable with respect to the driving shaft and geared to the-suction roller, a driv ing member driven by the shaft and frictionally engaging the driven member, a brake that engages the driven member to hold it against rotation by the driving member, 'a cam operated by the driving shaft for applying the brake, and means for swinging the frame, said means being operated by the driving shaft.

8. In sheet feeding apparatus, the-combination with a sheet support, of means for directing a blast of air against the upper'sheets on the support to separate the same, a suction sheet removing means movable toward and from the top sheet, means for thus moving the sheet removing means, and means for causing air to be discharged by said blast directing means asthe sheet moving means moves toward the sheets and prior to its engagement therewith, maintaining the suction-removing means inactive during such movement, and thereafter causing suction in the suction removing means while the blast is continued.

' 9. In sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a sheet support, of a suction feeding. device that operates on the sheets carried by the support, means for directing an air blast against the sheets, means for creating suction in the feeding device and supplying the air blast means with air under pressure, and means for controlling the suction creating means and the air supplying means to cause the latter to act while the former is inactive and afterwards create suction in the sheet feeding device while the air supply 7 means remains active.

10. In sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with asheet support, ofa suction feeding device that operates on the sheets carried by the sup ort, means for directing an air blast against the sheets, air pumping means having a suction conduit connection with the suction feeding device and a conduit connected to the blast directing means for supplying air under pressure thereto, valves in the respective conduits, and means for automatically opening the air supply conduit valve in advance of the suction conduit valve and opening the latter while the former is still open.

11. In sheet feeding apparatus, the combi nation with a sheet support, of a suction feeding device that operates on the sheets carried by the support, means for'directing an air blast against the sheets, air pumping means having a suction conduit connect-ion with the suction feeding device and a conduit connected to the blast directing means for supplying air under pressure thereto, valves in the respective conduits, levers'connected to the valves, and cams operating on the levers and lapped to cause the opening of the air supply conduit valve in advance of the suction conduit valve and the opening of the latter while the former is still open.

12. In sheet feeding apparatus, the combination with a table for supporting a pileof sheets, of a swinging frame mounted thereover, a suction feed roller 1ournaled on the frame and swinging therewith into and out of contact with the uppermost sheet of the pile,

means for periodically swinging the frame, a blast nozzle for delivering air against the upper portion of the pile, a suction creating and blast creating means having a suction conduit connected to the suction feed roller and a blast conduit connected to the nozzle, valves in the respective conduits, means for opening the blast conduit valve substantially as the swin ing frame is depressed, means for opening-the suction conduit valve after the frame is depressed, and means for causing the rotation of the suction roller substantially when the frame is raised. 7

13. In sheet feeding apparatus, the combi nation with a sheet support, of a rock shaft thereover, a swinging frame fixed to the rock shaft, a sheet moving device on the frame, a cam, a crank arm fixed to the rock shaft,

means connected to the crank arm and operated on by the rock shaft to move it in one direction, another crank arm fixed to the rock shaft, and a counterbalance connected to the secondarm to move the rock shaft in a reverse direction.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

ALBERT n oanMEY-ER. 

